


Faces We Keep

by Agent99



Series: The Face We Keep [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Female Character of Color, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Omnic Crisis, Original Character Death(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pre-Omnic Crisis, Pre-Talon Widowmaker | Amélie Lacroix, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-07-24 12:16:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16174889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Agent99/pseuds/Agent99
Summary: Salena Patel has been hired as the Captian of Blackwatch, serving under Gabriel Reyes, her longtime friend and mentor. The story travels through the rise and falls of Blackwatch, the Age of Jesse McCree, the Beginning of Genji, and the Beginnings of Anger and Disruption behind Overwatch walls. When faced with the opposition and loss of her loved one, Salena will go much deeper than anyone to save the people she loves.





	1. Chapter 1

Sitting in an office, speaking casually to Jack Morrison. The memory came to mind so clearly. She could almost hear his voice, chidding her on reckless behavior. He looked more and more exhausted every time she walked in. She wondered if he ever got rest. However, that was just a memory. When she looked around, it was nothing but emptiness, and dust. 

Life had handed her such an odd hand when it came to the world she would be apart of. A starry eyed cadet in the military, leading to be a hardened officer. But her worth would be in the way she did things. The way she said things. She was personable, open, allowed people in, probably a bit too quickly. But there was a firmness and strength in her words and actions that made her seem untouchable in many ways. Not many people had gotten to really know the woman, save for a handful. 

Ana Amari, brilliant leader with a deadly shot. 

Jack Morrison, country boy who turned out to be the perfect soldier. 

And Gabriel Reyes. Well, that was something much more than just a simple sentence can describe. Her and Gabe had known each other for years. He had been her commanding officer when she enlisted, and then her later life-long friend afterwards. 

But now she wondered in Morrison's office. It was quiet, empty, one of the only rooms remaining at Headquarters. Things seemed crisp still, as her fingers ran over charred paperwork, scarred wood of a desk that used to be the thinking space of the Commander. She was looking for something, what it was? She wasn't absolutely certain. But she looked anyway. It had been 5 years since the building had collapsed on itself. She wondered why there was paperwork there at all, but it had been a trekk to get through the rubble and busted cement. 

Maybe Overwatch thought this would be better buried, just like everything else. 

She picked up a loose sheet, turning it over in gloved hands. Underneath the flesh was scarred. A soldier's hands. Burns and cuts decorating with thin shining lines. Laying it back down, she heard a noise behind her. She looked over her shoulder with a smooth movement, revealing a face covered with a plain black mask, the only detail on it being glowing red lights where the eyes would be. She looked carefully, turning fully. She sees another pair of eyes staring at her through the darkness, and moves forward a couple steps. 

"Don't," a male voice spoke to her, and she stopped walking. The voice was deep, dark. Her own voice comes from behind the mask. Distorted, and sounding the slightest bit unsettling. 

"I thought only ghosts haunted abandoned buildings." There is only silence between the two figures for a moment, the woman's stance was relaxed as she stared at the man, more expectant than anxious. "You're looking for something, yes?" She spoke, a knowing tone to her voice. Only silence answered her, until she heard the steps walk forward, dust kicking up under his feet. Coming into the little bit of light from a glowstick she had cracked, but she was able to make out his features. Large shoulders, tall, muscular. She looked at him with interest. 

"Who are you?" He questioned with a cold flat tone. She stood there, answering him with an ominous head tilt. 

...

 **The Beginning of Blackwatch**  
It was almost surreal as she sat in a hallway outside of Jack Morrison's office. _The_ Jack Morrison who she had heard so much about from her old superior. He was a legend by then too, bright eyed and ready to save the world. She got such a sense of pride even just thinking that she would have an opportunity to work beneath such an amazing, accomplished man. At this point, she didn't think much of what she was doing there. After speaking to Reyes, she knew that there was an opening for an agent with a set of skills like the arsenal she had on her resume. 

Hand to hand. Military Training. Arms Training. Sniping. Espionage. And a killer smile. He had added the latter with a laugh, the slight flirt making her flip him off in the video chat, but her cheeks had pulled into a grin nonetheless. But most importantly, Reyes had always been impressed with her incredible leadership skills. She had a sense of community, trust, and worth that she passed along to others like it was contagious. All that aside though... She was still nervous. 

Sweaty palms  
Stomach butterflies  
Utterly  
Horribly  
Nervous. 

She wore a simple, modest black dress. 'Old faithful' she called it, this little dress has yet to steer her wrong when it came to good first impressions. Tight pencil skirt attached to a tight fitting top, covering all the way up to her neck and sleeves covering her arms. Modest, but also not really. Her long black hair was pulled up and out of her face into a ponytail, and her face was clear of any make up except for a small amount of concealer under her almond eyes, helping her sand colored hazel eyes look brighter. Her face held a long, slender nose, leading to a full pair of dark pink lips. She was very beautiful, though her face did hold some scars, but nothing that stood out more than another's. She held the face of someone who has gone through things others may never have to see, but she was not ashamed of wearing her stories on her skin.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when her name came across the hallway, a woman walking up with some paperwork in her hands. She had intense features, irises a shining blue, white hair pulled back into a tight bun. 

"Salena Patel," she spoke, voice strong despite the noise around her. Salena stood up from her seat, straightening her dress, picking up her resume, and shouldering her handbag as she walked over to the woman. She greeted her with a handshake and a smile, the older lady simply nodding and waving her away to the direction of where she needed to go. Salena nodded quickly before moving into that direction. She walked at an even pace, but maybe a little quicker than she should have. 

She arrived at the door, a gold plague on the door with 'Morrison' itched into the metal. She quickly ran her hands over her dress again, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear before raising a fist to knock on the door. But in mid air, the door opened to reveal a person that was definitely _not_ Jack Morrison. He was tall, imposing in the doorway, grinning down at her. His cheeks and jaw seemed to cut out of pure granite, but they led to warm brown eyes. Wrinkles around the corners as a smile came to him. Her nerves suddenly seemed to melt away as she tilted her head to the side. 

"Reyes," she greeted him simply, and he nodded back with his smile still firmly placed on his lips, which was framed by his familiar goatee. 

"Patel," his voice was as smooth as she remembered. She momentarily wondered if all the girls in Overwatch fawned over him like the girls in their unit had done. He, of course, loved every second of it. But out of every one, he always had a connection to Salena and she felt it too. They were meant to meet, meant to be close. Meant to change minds together. Reyes stepped back and let her in and she saw two more people by Jack's desk. One she assumed to be the man himself, blonde hair pushed back out of his face, blue eyes looking through her. The other though, made the breath be pushed out of her lungs, leaving her dizzy. It was _the_ Ana Amari. She had heard stories of the amazing bio-weaponry expert, sniping legend, extraordinary leader. Salena had to keep her heart and fan-girling under control as she walked in, hand extended to Amari first. 

"Ms. Patel, I've heard a lot about you," she spoke warmly, though her voice made Salena believe she would happily die for this woman if she had the chance. "I'm Captain Ana Amari," she introduced. Her handshake was strong, but her hand was so soft. 

"Nice to meet you ma'am," Salena hummed happily, smile lighting up her features, before she turned to Jack and he shook her hand. Seeing him up close, she sees a man that doesn't quite fit the description everyone talked about, but his smile was welcoming. Like he was thankful Salena had walked in. He was a tired, scarred man, yet...

"Morrison, it's good to put a face with the name. Reyes never shuts up about you," he joked, his way of speaking was blunt, but she grinned at him. 

"He never shuts up to begin with," Salena teased, casting a smirk over her shoulder to Reyes, who looked unamused. However Jack and Ana laughed. 

"Isn't that the truth? Sit, we have a lot to discuss," Jack extended his hand to the chair in front of his desk. She did just that, sitting in the chair and setting her bag next to the chair. Ana remained standing, looking at Salena with studying eyes. Meanwhile, Reyes stood behind her, and she felt him shift to stand with his arms crossed over his broad chest. He was probably leaning against the wall. He did that a lot. Salena kept her eyes on Morrison, who seemed to be looking through her. Into her. She wondered what he found there. 

"Has Reyes told you the position we're looking at you for?" 

Salena spoke clearly, "From what I had assumed, it was for a simple field agent. It seems it may be something else however." Ana smiled in response and Jack nodded. 

"We have been looking at you for a little while, since Reyes had brought us your credentials. We even hired you as a bodyguard for one of our own," Jack explained and Salena simply nodded, but there must been some confusion in her eyes as Jack continued, "Lacroix, he explained to us that you were talented sniper, but a wild card when it came to tactics," Morrison offered a chance to speak without asking a question. 

"If you follow a line, the enemy will be able to follow it too," Salena gave this as her example to which blue eyes moved away from her to the man standing behind her. 

"I wonder who taught you that," Jack spoke coolly, to which Gabriel piped up. 

"And look who got to be one of the best snipers I've ever met because of it. Present company included," mentioning Ana, "Patel has proved time and time again that she can stay on course if necessary, but is willing to do what she has to to get the job done. Which is exactly what we would need for Blackwatch," Reyes continued before Salena could question what the hell a Blackwatch was, "And has leadership experience under her belt from her time in Dubai." 

"I read her file, Gabe. I'm just giving her an interview. That's what we're here for," Jack spoke gently, eyes moving away from Gabe back to Salena. Her eyes held a glint of happiness at Gabe's praise of her, and her skills. Jack must have seen this and asked, upfront, no tact attached, "Have the two of you shared any intimate relationship we should know about?" Reyes sounded exasperated behind her. She smiled with humor in her eyes. 

"He asked me to marry him once, I declined though--"

"I was drunk!" Gabe explained quickly, to which Ana put a hand over her mouth to hide the smile there. 

"He was seven tequila shots in. And doing them off this attractive woman, and did the eighth and final shot before spinning around, getting on one knee and proposing. The girl was angry, and the entire bar cheered him on. It was hilarious to say no and see all those shocked faces," Salena explained, faking a woeful expression, "He cried a little bit then passed out and I had to carry him back to our unit," she finished, turning to look at Gabriel who gave her an extremely unamused face. 

"You aren't helping either of our cases here, Patel," he explained, but Ana and Jack were chuckling at this point. 

"It's fine, Gabe. We have all experienced rejection," Ana soothed, resting her hand under her chin as she looked at her counterpart with mirth in her gaze. "We may need to hire her just for the stories. Plus," she eyed Salena gently, "I like her. She'll be a good fit." The mood lifted as she, yes she, Salena Patel, had gotten a compliment from _the _Ana Amari. She would never forget this day. Jack tutted quietly.__

__"It's not about hiring her, Ana. I want to have her as an agent. It's about hiring her as a Captain for Blackwatch. I don't want to throw that title around unless I believe that someone deserves it. That's why you are the only one." Jack thought quietly. Everyone stayed quiet at this point. Salena was processing what they just said. Captain? For Blackwatch._ _

__"What is Blackwatch? I've never heard of it," Salena spoke honestly and Reyes answered._ _

__"It's our Black Ops division. Or atleast it will be."_ _

__"Who is in charge of it?" Salena asked and Reyes' lips grew a smile behind her shoulder._ _

__"Me."_ _

__She looked at Reyes with a raised eyebrow, trying to see if he was serious. When she didn't see anything other than simple pride in his eyes, she grinned. "What, Gabriel that's amazing!" She turned back to Jack, who was looking down at her sheet. "Even if not a captain, can I still be apart of Blackwatch? All my skills are tailored for Black Ops." Jack looked up from her paperwork at her with look that said he was obviously going to put her there._ _

__"Despite me thinking that you would make an amazing agent here for Overwatch, it would be a waste of your talent to not put you with Gabe. And despite some uncertainty," Jack ran a hand through his blonde locks, "I'm going to approve this leadership position. You'll be Reyes' Captain, his second in command of Blackwatch. Follow his instruction, otherwise you'll be dealing with Ana and I." He warned, though he didnt seem to be malicious. Just some simple advice. Jack stood from his desk and Salena stood quickly as well as Jack stuck his hand back out. "I'm sorry to cut this short but there are other things we're hoping to finish. Any questions, just go to Gabe. Gabe, be careful with this one," Jack instructed, shaking Salena's hand again, "I may try to steal this one back to Overwatch." He winked at Salena before passing Gabe and smirking at the man with an air of smugness around him._ _

__"I'll have to meet you in the training area, see who has the better skills," Ana challenged Salena playfully._ _

__"I really don't want to be embarrassed like that, Captain," Salena cooed, shaking the woman's hand again, enjoying as her smile spread across her lips._ _

__"We'll see just how badly we can shame you, then make you better," Ana spoke as she walked both Reyes and Salena out of Jack's office. Her and Jack walked away, Ana giving Salena a small wave before both soldier's had their back to them. As soon as they were out of view, Salena raised her hand and smacked Reyes in the arm._ _

__"Why didn't you tell me I was interviewing for such a job!" She chided him with another smack to the arm. It was like he didn't even feel the smack, just laughing as he took the abuse._ _

__"I was told not to, we can't have Blackwatch being a topic in the public eye," Gabe answered honestly, grabbing her hand the next time she tried to slap his arm, and gave her hand a little slap of his own. Just gently before releasing it. "Are you ready to move on base? They'll want you here as soon as you can."_ _

__Salena nodded with a shrug, "I've been off grid, so I really only have a backpack at the hotel. Hopefully we have uniforms," Salena spoke honestly, gaining her a sideways look from Gabriel about her living at a hotel, "You don't want to know," she assured before grinning. "Can you believe it? _Captain Salena Patel_. What a ring that's got," she spoke, her eyes sparkling with pride, excitement, and maybe a little bit of power. _ _

__Just a little bit._ _


	2. Chapter 2

The masked female looked at the masked man, deciding if she should answer is question. Who was she? She felt like the story was too long to even be worth telling. And giving him her name was out of the question. She was wanted, her image on wanted boards across multiple countries. 

The distorted voice came back out, it's tone pitched lower, though it could still be distinguished as a woman. "Just someone looking for answers," she turned her back to the man now, fingers running over the wood of the desk. "I learned that this place wasn't unearthed yet. So I unearthed it." 

"You won't find answers here," the man spoke, "The man in this office was innocent." 

"Do you think so?" She narrowed her eyes behind her mask. "I thought he was just as guilty. Didn't believe in doing all he could to protect others." She shook her head, taking her hand away from the wood. Her face relaxed as she took a filling breath. "And you? Who are you supposed to be?" 

...  
**The Beginning Of Blackwatch**  
"Oooh shit, Gabriel our uniforms came in!" Salena spoke in excitement, standing in the warehouse picking up a couple shipments of supplies. Bullets, guns, and now, uniforms. Gabriel wasn't there however, but she had an earpiece in and was talking to him while he was in some meetings and interviews. 

"Open them up and tell me how they look," he spoke, his voice sounding happier at this new information. She did just that, opening up the metal crate, before digging through the pile of clothes. Most had no names, standard sizes. At the moment, it was still just her and Gabe and that was it, no agents had been recruited, yet there had been no jobs that Salena hadn't been able to handle on her own. Still. But it was becoming urgent that they begin recruitment. She finally saw her codename, the word Ghost written in Hindi, on a piece of paper and pinned to a group of uniforms. She grinned from ear to ear. 

"Oh hell yes," she lifted the uniform and held it up. The majority was black, with red accents. Gabriel had sewn the first one up for her as an example and the staff had gotten it perfectly. The material was thick enough to protect her from attack, with thin but durable padding on the chest, back, legs, and arms, but the joints were exposed, allowing free range of all movement. Sewn into the arm of each uniform was a leather, circular, Blackwatch patch. She looked at them with a warm gaze, her heart swelling. "Gabe, they look amazing! They did it just like your design," she gushed over them, "the fabric they choose for the padding is perfect for mine. It seems flexible, and the rest of the suit looks made for full mobility. I can't wait to try them on."

"How do the rest of the uniforms look?" 

"Not as good as mine." 

"Obviously," he chuckled into the receiver, "Other than that?" 

"They're built a lot thicker. They'll be good as first sets, but they'll need to be adjusted per person and style. They'll be good for different body types though. Padding looks good, stitching is good. I like the slate grey, I should have gotten mine like that," she explained thoughtfully. 

"We can always design a new one, but I think the black is better for stealth missions, which is what you do best," Gabriel excused himself for a moment and Salena waited as she heard him speaking to someone else, laughing, before the rustle of papers before he came back on the line, "What about the other stuff we ordered, your new gun?" 

"Not in, unfortunately." 

"Your gloves?" 

"They're in and they're hot and leather," she answered happily, looking at the 2 black pairs of leather gloves with discreet red stitching. Pulling them on to her hands as Gabe kept checking down a list. 

"Boots?"

"Not yet, the paper work says they'll be in 3 days from now."

"The jackets?" 

"Yep, I haven't opened them yet, hold on," she moved over to the crate with the jacket shipping information on the top. Popping it open, with her new gloves still on, and she rummaged around the inside. "Whooooa," the elongated word left her lips as she held up the first jacket she saw, with the initials 'G.Reyes' on the back. Embroidered with shiny silver thread. "These look amazing, Gabriel!" She picked through and find her own on the bottom, seeing her codename once again. The Hindi looked gorgeous in the silver thread, making her have a small smile. "I'm going to wear mine around the base."

"No. You're not, we're not an official facet of Overwatch remember?" Gabe said sternly. 

"It's so cool, though. Why did you make it if we can't wear it?" Her pout was evident in her voice, making Gabe lighten up a bit, chuckling. 

"For when we get our own building, which will be done before you know it. Just save it for then, we can both wear it and look sauve as hell." 

She sighs dramatically, dropping the jackets back in the crate, "Fine, what's next on the list." He laughs again and continues, checking off almost everything he was looking for. Save for two different types of ammunition, her gun, the uniform boots, and medkits. Otherwise, the Blackwatch team was stocked. 

"But hey, I need to go check in with Angela about something, I'll see you when you get back?" Salena spoke into the headset, finger ready to tap it off. 

"Alright, try to call me back if you can. I'm about ready to kill myself if I have to go through another mindless press conference," he asked, and she could hear the slight begging in his voice. How sad. 

"I will try, no promises. Plus if you off yourself, I get a promotion," she teased before clicking off the headset and not giving him the opportunity to reply. There was a smile on her lips as she closed up the boxes. However another call came in and she clicked on her headset, "I promise I was kidding," she assured into the phone. 

"I'm not sure I believe you. However, do me a favor and when you try on the uniform to get a picture of it," Gabe's voice came in. She stayed silent, letting him think about how strange that sounded. "So I can see how it looks, pervert," he continued. Salena stayed silent now as a joke, letting him stew in it. "I'll just wait till I get back," he finished, and she could feel him blushing over the line. 

"Okay, sounds good," she laughed, taking a gloved and flicking some of her long hair over her shoulder. "Picture is never as good as the real thing anyway." 

"Shithead," he grumbled, before the line disconnected. She laughed gently, putting the last pile on the load up and moving out of the warehouse towards the medical wing, to visit with Angela Zeigler, as she said she needed to do a physical for Overwatch records. 

...

When she got to the doorway of the med bay, there wasn't anyone there, save for someone behind a curtain, resting in bed. She could only see the outline of their face, seeing the silhouette of some IV tubes as well. She knocked on the doorway, waiting to see if Angela was nearby. 

"One moment, please," a voice came from behind the curtain, and Salena moved over to a chair by the doctor's desk and sat, waiting patiently. She pulled out her phone to see Jack had messaged her, explaining a weapon for her had been mixed up with his shipments and an excited jitter went through her. But with that, she messaged Gabriel saying to check the gun off the list. She didn't expect him to answer back since he was probably in his meeting by then, but she saw it being read before he was typing. A single _Got it_. He was probably still mad about her teasing earlier. She hummed a laugh, but soon pocketed her phone as she watched Angela emerge from behind the curtain and move over to where she was sitting. 

"Hello Dr. Zeigler. How are you doing today?" 

"Well, it is like Jack says. There really is no rest for the weary. How are you, Captain?" Angela greeted her with a tired, but content smile. 

"Keeping busy, Gabe has me stuck on inventory today," she explained, smiling back. 

"Well, I will try not to take up too much of your time, I just need the basics. Eye test, hearing, reflexes, endurance, blood tests," Angela explained, getting out her clipboard and standing up once again. 

"Sounds good, doc," Salena stood as well and followed. She was ready to get it all done and over with. While she enjoyed the doctor's company, being in any med bay made her nervous. 

...

She was eating a piece of cookie when her comm rang in her ear. She pressed her ear down to her shoulder to press the button, and answered, "Patel here," before taking another bite of cookie. She had just gotten her blood drawn after running a mile. She was exhausted now, and running on cookie fumes. Jack's voice came on the comm. 

"Where are you?" 

"Medbay," Patel answered plainly. "Angela needed a couple things for my paperwork. Need help with something?" She asked at the end, hopeful that he would say yes. Get her out of doing more inventory and paperwork. And test out her new uniform.

"I'll meet you there and explain," Jack answered before the line cut out. She finished her snack, drinking some water before rolling down the sleeves of her shirt. She stayed seated though, getting a look from Angela that reminded her that she had 15 more minutes before she could get up. Salena relaxed back into the chair and waited for Jack. 

He wondered in 5 minutes later, holding a file in one hand, a long black case in the other. He put both of which on a nearby table. "We need you do this operation," he stated in his no nonsense voice. It must have been important. She grabbed the folder first, opening it. She thumbed through the pages, taking everything in. 

"Deadlock, huh? I didn't think they were something Overwatch dealt with," Salena stated honestly, dropping the file down before moving the case to be directly in front of her. She opened the case carefully to reveal a beautiful sniper rifle. It was a smooth black matte, again with dark red details. There was nothing quite like having a full matching outfit all together. "Lucky for us, I have some new toys I'm just dying to break in," smiling up at Jack before seeing Gabriel walk in. "The triumphant leader returns. We gotta job." 

"I'm sorry to say that it's going to be a sting operation. No rifle," Jack said firmly. Gabriel moved past him to look at her new gun. 

"That's a shame. We'll have to break it in on the range tomorrow," Gabe said thoughtfully, looking at the machinery in the case. 

"It's like you and Reyes are bound and determined to ruin my Christmas morning or something," Salena hummed in disappointment, closing the case the gun rested in and pushed it away. "So what's the plan?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope thosr readers who have stopped by have enjoyed the story so far <3

**The Beginning of Blackwatch**  
Salena was dressed in a long black dress, her lean and toned body decorated in the flattering fabric, it went up her neck, but had a revealing slit going down the front, tan skin peaking from underneath. Atleast the back was covered, save for a small tear drop hole between her shoulder blades. It wasn't that she wasn't confident in her form, but believed clothing with holes wasn't conducive to a mission. There were openings for injury. Right there on her person. Her long black hair was up in a high ponytail, and her face glowed a hint of make up. Meanwhile, Gabriel was dressed in all black as well, simple slacks and black dress shirt. Black belt, black dress shoes. He looked fantastic, of course. On each of their left hands were simple gold rings, hers with a small diamond. For this, they were married. _Finally!_ Gabe joked, which gained a slap to his arm. They rode to their destination in a town car, hands clasped in one another's. Gabe had seemed nervous about this, worried that something was going to go wrong. Jack had assured that it would run as smoothly as any mission could. They had back up, they had insiders. It was all a matter of setting all the pins up to be knocked down. Yet, the two of them only had a simple pistol on their person's, Salena's tucked neatly into her garter belt, Gabe's snug in a holster. 

_Why can't I wear pants for this?_

_We're giving off the vibe of too much money to spend and we're buying military hardware for your company. We need to be expensive._

The car skidded through bright red dirt, heading towards some sort of warehouse hidden in the rocks of Route 66. Salena looked out into the desert quietly, her hand occasionally gaining a squeeze to bring her back down to the ground. She would turn to him and give him a warm smile and he'd return it with a thoughtful one of his own. 

"This one feels different, doesn't it?" Salena asked gently, her voice soft. Gabriel nodded, but didn't respond. He seemed to be focused on her hand for a little while. So she stayed silent and held his in her own until the driver slowed down and they pulled up to their destination. There was just a moment, right before she put on her sunglasses and steppes out of the black town car. She wasn't sure if other soldiers felt it, but it was that moment of run. Stay in the car with her best friend and they both could just leave and never look back. She wasn't sure if it was fear or self-reservation or both or neither. But she had learned that the push she felt that made her let go of his hand, and open the car door. That was what made her a soldier. That will to get out and do it, even if she wanted to hide. 

Gabriel got out of the car, checked to make sure he had his phone, before moving over to her side and shutting the door for her. She looked drop dead gorgeous. Wasn't really a compliment, but a testified fact. But it was strange to see her like this. This wasn't the way he saw his partner. He liked it, just not as much as the original. He shut the door for her, before standing with his hand resting on the small of her back, which made her go closer to his side, comfortably walking beside him as they headed to the large garage style door that lead to the warehouse. 

Movement could heard inside as they stood in front of the door, waiting for their door to open. Salena could be described as looking unamused, sand colored eyes looking bored behind her sunglasses. The sun was still high in the sky, beating down on their heads. She looked around the door and saw a camera at the top. She lowered her glasses and looked at it in a ' _What the fuck are we waiting for?_ ' gaze, to which the person inside seemed to see and the door finally started sliding up and revealing the project on the inside. There was a good amount of people inside, carrying boxes, working on computers, talking, holding gun. They became quiet for a second as they saw Salena and Gabe walk in, Gabe's hand still resting on the small of her back, directing her but also following her. Play off one another, like any married couple would in a situation like this. At the sight of them, a man wondered up, looking the two up and down. 

"You must be Miss Rotan. And this is--" 

"My husband Mr. Rotan," she stated coolly, eyes on him. He seemed... Young. They all seemed young. Did Deadlock take run aways in? She looked at him and then looked around, "Quite a set up you boys have going here. Didnt imagine it would be high tech on the inside," she mentioned, noting the line of computers, high tech turrets. 

"We like to dabble in a bit of everything, ma'am. Due to everyone likin a bit of everything, right?" He spoke, Southern drawl hitting over their ears. It was almost warm as it washed over them, but the kid it came from, not so much. He wore a black vest, black shirt. Black pants, boots, and spurs. And when he turned around, the black leather of his vest was branded a large skull, wings behind the skull, chains, and centered in the middle was, of course, a lock. In large letters his jacket read one word. 

_McCree_

"McCree. I've heard about you," Salena, currently Miss Rotan, hummed gently. A lot of people had at that point. Sharpshooter, intelligent, young but ruthless enough to get up in ranks. At least up enough to make this deal with the two of them. He was a prodigy, a product of the gang's hardwork and values instilled in one sixteen year old boy. "I guess I was expecting someone older," to this the brown haired boy looked over his shoulder again. He was as tall as Gabe already, broad shoulders. His eyebrows were narrowed darkly, "That's not a bad thing. Means you're just more motivated than others," she soothed, brown eyes looking into his as a smile played on her lips. 

The boy gave a half smile that probably would make women fall to their knees one day, "Thanks, but motivated ain't exactly the way I'd call it," he assured, and turned back around. He lead them through the groups of people, people looking at the two of them as they walked passed. The couple looked stunning, plain and simple. And apparently enough to turn some heads. "We've set aside this group here for ya, thinkin you'll have enough money to afford the better quality shipments," the young man complimented them, to which they both gave a smirk too.

"Kind of you to think so highly of us," Gabriel spoke in a cool tone, finally taking a step away from her as he took the lead through a pair of double doors. 

"Guns and phones on the counter," McCree instructed bluntly, to which Gabriel listened, pulling the gun from his holster and setting it on the counter. Then both agents set there phones there as well. "You too, Miss Rotan," McCree instructed. Salena looked at him before sighing aduibly, pulling up the side of her dress. 

"You think I'd shoot you, kid?" She cooed, her voice warm, as her thigh became exposed. Only for a moment. But McCree and Gabriel were both staring. However as she reached the holster on her garter and pulled the gun out, both men suddenly looked away. 

"I think you'd shoot me before your husband would," McCree stated honestly, laughing before a look of worry crossed his features. She chuckled, a dark sound, but didn't try to calm his nerves at all and decided not to answer. He reluctantly turned away, running a hand over his brown hair. Gabriel cast a look over at her, but she kept her eyes away. 

"Scaring the poor boy, you always surprise me, mi vida," he chided her gently, taking a finger a twirling in the end of her ponytail gently. 

"Raja, you should know better than that by now," she teased, looking up at him with a smirk. They followed the young man through some darkened room, finally seeing some large machinery, weapons of war just sitting, ready to be sold to the highest bidder. Gabe looked around in mock interest, taking in the equipment with a slower step than the other two. "So where do you all even get... All this?" Salena asked, no tone of accusation, just simple curiosity. 

"I'm afraid that's none of your business, miss," the man answered, his tone with a hint of accusation laced into it. 

"I suppose you're right," Salena stated, sounding bored with his defensive words. He finally stopped in front of a large, menacing looking gun. He turned and leaned on the metal exterior. 

"Isn't she just as pretty as a picture?" McCree spoke about the machine as Salena walked up closer to it. She inspected the cool black metal, red trigger on the side. It was just one heavy hitting, car exploding, hole knocking, big, _Big_ gun. Machine gun it seemed, as a roll of large bullets was sitting beside it. 

"I've been told red and black are my colors," she mused, large smile spreading across her lips. Gabriel moved behind her, looking at the metal as well. 

"What kind of bullet is that, it looks like it could take down a tank," he mused. McCree began to answer, however a commotion could be heard in the room they had left before. McCree narrowed his eyes, before moving away from them. 

"Stay put, I see either one of you move, I'll shot the both of ya," he warned before jogging over to the double doors. Gabriel and Salena stood side by side, turning to look at one another. 

"What does 'raja' mean?" He asked, mentioning the word she had called him earlier. She smiled up at him. 

"King," she answered honestly. "'Mi vida' means 'my life' right?" 

"Mhm."

"I think you're going to make me pretty jealous when you marry a someone one day and you treat them so wonderfully," she teased, to which she saw him chuckle gently. 

"If all my plans go right, you'll be my wife by then anyway," Gabriel spoke, keeping his eyes on hers, his flirt causing her to smack his arm gently, but also a blush came across her tan cheeks. 

"Tease," she cooed, but as the words left her lips, the double doors brust back open. Both agents looked over to see McCree run back in, fire lit behind his eyes. 

"You set us up!" His growl bounced along the floors as he pulled out his weapon. Gabe ushered Salena behind the machine, ducking his head down behind the large gun as a bullet pistoned pass the machine, another shot following behind it, however it was aimed above head, shooting the light out above head, casting the two into darkness. There was silence, save for the sounds of the footsteps of McCree coming towards where they had hidden. 

Salena quietly unclipped her heels and took them off, setting them beside her. They would only add noise to her steps. She leaned over, finding Gabe and speaking quietly, as quiet as she could so that only he could hear her, "I'll take left." 

"Carefully. I'll take right," Gabe instructed to which Salena nodded in the darkness. She stood, darting over to the side without making a single sound. She was graceful as she made her way to where she remembered where they had left their weapons. A foolish thing, but she supposed it had been unavoidable. She heard another shot ring out, but it sounded like it bounced off a metal something and not into a body. She stopped behind something, she couldn't see it, but it seemed large enough to have cover behind. She listened intently and when she heard McCree moving elsewhere, she ducked out from behind the object and took soft steps over to what she hoped was the front of the room. 

"You can't hide forever," McCree spoke, listening carefully, not realizing that the two agents were making their way towards the door. At least until he heard a shuffle of fabric and he turned around quickly and shot. He heard the soft impact of bullet and flesh, but no sound of pain after it. He listened, moving towards the sound. He was almost lost in the darkness, save for knowing the room he was in very well. He took a couple large steps but was suddenly blinded as the double doors were pushed open, revealing the silhouette of the man, before realizing someone coming up behind him until he felt sharp a pain at the base of his skull. The feel of his head coming into connect with something hard and metal before everything became fuzzy. The teenager staggered before falling to the ground, revealing Salena behind him. One hand held her pistol, while her other arm was useless beside her, bullet lodged in her shoulder. She huffed as she looked down at the young man with a glare before walking past him to Gabriel.

"Are you okay?" He asked, touching her arm gingerly, taking a look at her shoulder carefully. Salena gave him a weak grin. 

"What, this? Child's play," Salena joked, before wincing in pain. They peeked out the doors to see Overwatch agents cuffing every and all Deadlock members. As if this reminded him, Gabe moved over and put McCree's arms behind his back and cuffed them there, before grabbing him by the nape of his vest and leaning his unconscious body up against the wall. "Still, how did he take that shot in the dark, literally. The boy has some talent," Salena stated, before moving out the door, where Angela quickly moved over to her with a medkit. Gabe dragged McCree's motionless body out the door and set him with the rest of his crew, all a little worse for wear. 

...

Salena was comfortably back at base, gauze wrapped around her shoulder, which rested safely under a black sweatshirt. She was resting in the Medbay, her long hair around her shoulders, leggings on her lower half, fuzzy black socks on her feet. In her hands was a mug of warm tea, and beside her was a bag of convenient store chocolate bars, courtesy of Gabriel. Life was pretty good, aside from the bullet Angela had to rip out of her shoulder and then stitched up. She was sore, but Angela was a miracle worker. She was fueled up on non-drowsy pain killers, and feeling alright all things considered.

Gabe had left earlier to help Jack with interrogations and because it was probably chaotic in bookings after taking everyone in. Which means Salena missed all the paperwork because she was laid up in a hospital bed. So a little good came out of the bad. She watched her holopad as updates poured in about the Overwatch sting on Deadlock. Pictures of Gabriel and Jack filled the screens of news stations, describing the large round up of the gang. There were no images of her, which is how she would prefer it. Captain or not, Blackwatch needed to have some secrets. Hell, they didn't know Gabe was running it. Only thought he was just demoted to another Overwatch facet.

She continued to watch her holopad until her eyes got heavy and she drifted into a dreamless sleep. She would go back to her room when Gabriel got back, so Angela knew she made it there safely. So it could be a while for her to stay in there, so she slept out of boredom. She stirred when she felt a hand on her uninjured shoulder, causing her to open her eyes to see Gabriel standing there. She groaned and rose her arm gently, "Just carry me, I don't want to-- wait I was just joking, Gabe," she tried to move away from him but he quickly scooped her up in his arms. She resigned to being carried pretty fast, wrapping her good arm around his neck while the other rest on her stomach. She laughed gently, resting her head on his shoulder. "You're such a prince charming, Reyes," she cooed, relaxing against his form. He was always so warm, and she took immense satisfaction in taking in his heat because the med bay was so chilly. 

"What happened to Raja?" He asked, enjoying her pressed tight against him. She chuckled gently. 

"I obviously have to save that for when we get married, Gabriel," she teased, and he laughed warmly, his breath blowing gently over her head. 

"Such a tease," he commented on her words, but carried her all the way to their small cozy station, occasionally gaining theme odd looks as they passed. "So, I need to tell you something." 

"What is it?" 

"I recruited someone into Blackwatch today," he stated, his words seemingly hiding something. 

"That's good, who is it?" 

"Well..." Gabe trailed off for a moment before opening the door to their small headquarters away from headquarters, which held a young man on the inside. He looks over his shoulder to see Salena being carried in Gabe's arms and he narrows his warm brown hues. 

"If this is the team I'll be workin on, I'd rather be in lock up," he looked utterly unamused, to which Gabe just squeezed Salena tighter to his chest until she was struggling to breath and get out of his grip to yell at him. 

**5 Years Prior**  
Salena smiled as Gabe laughed loudly at something she said. A dark joke, his favorite kind. There was a warmth around him, the kind of heat that someone who had been drinking radiating off of him in waves. She wasn't much better. They were celebrating, she was getting moved to Dubai, as a lieutenant in the United Arab Army. The title was small for then, but the offer was incredible. He was proud, but as he looked at her, he was also so scared. The area was known for Omnic attacks, social anarchy, hostile takeovers, if one could think of it, Dubai was probably dealing with problems in it. 

He cared about his protege, he had taken her under his wing as soon as he saw her talents, but hadn't expected the appreciation he would grow for her. She was strong, she was powerful, she had opened up to him about everything. Hell, he had even gone to her home in Montana for a time to meet her mother. He had seen where exactly she had inherited her strength as soon as the small Indian had grabbed him by the ear when he had cursed in the house. His giant self being pulled down to her tiny lady level. So here he was, feeling obligated to spread all his knowledge with the woman as he could. Always keep her head down, don't let anyone tell her she is doing something wrong if she knows she isn't, don't let anyone judge her based on her age. At 26 she had achieved more than a lot of others even in higher ranks. Always take an extra pair of socks. Always have an extra pair of laces. Keep a sewing kit in her pocket. Don't cut her hair, not for any reason except that he loved her hair so much, and at this point, it was an asymmetric bob. Love herself, always respect herself. Every trinket he could think of. 

"You sound like I'm about to college, Gabe," she teased, her smile warm on her lips. She waved the bartender over for another round of shots. He was holding her hand tightly in both of his own. He liked the way her flesh was cool to the touch, always cold to the touch. The alcohol was getting to him, that much was obvious.

"I just want to make sure you make it back," Gabriel stated honestly, only letting one hand go to grab the shot glass the bartender set down and he raised it up to her. She did the same, their glasses clinking before the both of them knocked the alcohol back. It wasn't smooth, by any means, but they were used to its bitter taste by this point. 

"You know I'd move hell to get back to you," she cooed, setting her free elbow on the bar top, before resting her chin in her hand. He chuckled at this, his cheeks dusting with soft pink. 

"You flatter me. I would fly my ass out there and drag you back if I had to though," his words were warm as they left him, squeezing her hand gently. Her sand colored hues took him in, before the liquor gave her some courage. 

"I've always wondered... What part made you want to mentor me? There were other good cadets that entered when I did," she asked carefully, not wanting to seem like she was fishing. He looked at her, lips curling into a smirk. 

"What part? Where do I start?" He teased. Her eyes lowered for a moment as she shook her head. But she held a smile on her lips. He decided to describe it further, "It was your dedication, putting your heart into what you believe in. It's something you don't find in a lot of others," he added, his voice genuine. She looked back up at him, eyes seeming to look through him. He did hate that sometimes, that she was able to see so much of him so simply. "That part of you that constantly pushes yourself to be better, constantly striving for excellence. Mija, you are already so good, but you always surprise me with something new you pull out of your hat. I don't know how you do it." 

She smiled that warm and genuine smile as she took in his words. How could one man be so welcoming to one person but be another person's hell, she would never understand. But she was happy he was in her corner. "Alright alright, I get it," she teased again.

"But I haven't even scratched the service yet," he grinned at her and she tilted her head to look at him. As if to say _Well go on then_. "It was that part of you that I saw during training, that look in your eyes when you see a challenge. Not any struggle, but excitement. And that part of you that makes you smile at failure. An opportunity, to show you can overcome it. Can overcome anything. Or even that part of you when you feel tired, exhausted. That sigh you do when you need to ice an injury. There is this fire in you to get back out there, soreness be damned. Even if sometimes I worry you're going to go too far one day and really hurt yourself," he added this last part in a very chidding tone, to which she pouted gently. "But I like that part too. A little," and despite being as drunk as he suddenly realized he was, he tossed her an unbelievably seductive smirk.

By this point, her cheeks were bright pink, but she returned his smirk with one of her one, leaning towards him, "Careful Reyes, I'll start thinking you like me," she hummed gently, her words making him lean forward as well, their faces close to one another.

"If I thought I was good enough for you, I'd show you just how much I like you, Patel," he spoke warmly, to which she grinned. They liked this. This flirting game of chicken. 

"Oh, is that right? You'll have to tell me all about it one day," Salena whispered to him, her smile still playing on her lips. His eyes looked her up and down slowly, which made her cheeks warm up. But suddenly his eyes grew soft. 

"I'm going to miss you, Salena," he said warmly, and he squeezed her hand again. She looked at him, before she placed her free hand over his as well. 

"I'm going to miss you too, Gabriel," she spoke genuinely, sighing softly.


	4. Chapter 4

She stood up from her spot next to Gabe as her row number was called over the intercome. He stood up as well, walking her over to the line. Both were a little hungover, eyes tired, but luckily a 14 hour plane ride sleeping should help her feel better. He talked to her, as if something big wasn't happening. She was leaving, for an unnamed amount of time. And he didn't know when he would see her in person. Or if he would even see her in person at all, ever. This was a big leap, and he felt helpless in trying to help her. Could he even help her anymore? As they got closer to the front, he placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned to him fully, eyes looking at him. She seemed lost like he did. And in her eyes, he saw the eyes of a scared young girl. His friend, his protege, was scared, and then it felt even worse. 

"Make sure you video call me as soon as you land," Gabe instructed, which made her give him a sad smile. 

"Obviously," she teased with a head tilt. They stood there for a minute before the line began to move up, which made them do the same. Her eyes wondered towards the ground. He wasn't sure if he had ever seen her this way. He had seen her cry before, from an injury she had gotten. The first bullet wound always hurt the most. But as she blinked and two tears came trailing down her cheeks, one from each eye, he felt his heart break. He squeezed her shoulder, a way of comfort. She nodded silently, trying to be strong. They were getting closer to the gate entrance, and he kept her close to him. More tears fell, her will in this wasn't strong. He lowered his hand to hold hers. She squeezed his hand tightly, however pulled his arm so that they were moving out of the line. She suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her as the tears came, sadness washing over her. 

She didn't need to be strong right then. 

He held her close to him, riding out the waves of tears that came and went. "I don't know if I can do it without you, Gabe," she admitted weakly, tears falling freely now. 

"You'll be able to do this, mija. This will be easy. You deserve this, you've worked so hard," he comforted her, his grip around her not faltering. She sniffled against him, keeping her eyes closed. 

"I'm going to miss you so much," she whispered, which made him bury his face into her hair. 

"I'm going to miss you. So, so much," Gabe answered her, and they stayed holding each other tightly, keeping himself a strong pillar for her to lean on. He didn't show it, but his heart hurt from seeing her in this kind of pain. He wanted to make her feel better, he wanted to take this kind of hurt away. As her breathing returned back to normal, her form relaxed when a stewardess came up to them. 

"I'm sorry, we're about to take off, so I need all passengers aboard," she stated softly, and she really did look sorry. Gabe pulled back from her then, looking at her as she kept her pink rimmed eyes down. He moved his hand to his pocket, pulling out an envelope and handing it out to her. She looked at it in confusion before raising a hand and taking gently. 

"Open it when you get on plane, and all comfy," he stated gently, his cheeks tinting slightly pink, almost not even enough to be noticed. She looked at him curiously, but nodded. She adjusted her backpack before taking a deep breath. She looked up at him, her golden eyes peering at him. She took his breath away. She was looking at him like he was the only thing that mattered at that moment. He released a sigh, taking his hands and putting them on either side of her face, thumbs running over the tear tracks left on her tan skin. 

"You can do this," he stated firmly, brown eyes looking into hers, "You can do this." 

"I can do this," she repeated, nodding gently. He nodded as well. 

"Go on, before they take off without you," he smiled down at her. She put a small smile on her own lips. She nodded, fearful that if she said anything, she would start crying again. She knew that as soon as he was out of sight, she would anyway. She stepped away from him, once, then twice. 

"Bye Gabriel," she said simply, biting her bottom lip afterwards. 

"Bye Salena," he responded, keeping his small smile on his lips. With that, she had to turn away, or else she would never leave. She moved through the gate entrance and was gone. 

He stood by the glass, watching until the plane moved away. Was she reading his letter then? Was she crying again? Was she safe? Was she okay? Everything played through his head and he had to wonder if it was because he had been her mentor or if it was something more. 

**The Age of Jesse**  
Sixteen and so goddamned prideful. Jesse McCree was a plague upon their lives, and she wasn't sure she would ever be able to forgive Gabriel for putting her through such torture. He had spit just about every curse in both English and Spanish. It was a string of obscenities constantly, and Salena and Gabe were at wits end. It wasn't until he was face to face with Salena saying;

"Zorra!" He yelled in a vicious tone and Gabriel was suddenly standing directly behind her with a fire blazing behind his brown eyes. 

"Come on Jesse, we're going to go train," he stated firmly, grabbing the boy by his collar and dragging him to the training room. Salena looked after Gabe, face confused.

"What does 'Zorra' mean?" 

"It means sl--" Jesse started but was quickly met with a hard slap to the back of the head. 

"Don't worry about it, mija," Gabe answered her question as she snickered at Jesse's pained face. 

...

"You get to choose who you want to spar," Gabe instructed, him in gym shorts and a black t-shirt. Salena stood next to him in a tank top, black sports bra, and black leggings. Her feet and hands were wrapped in black sports tape. Jesse looked between the two of them before answering. 

"The commander."

Salena tsked, "Wuss." 

Jesse sneered, "Fine, but I didn't wanna have to kick your ass." 

Salena narrowed her eyes, moving to the middle of the mats. Gabriel laughed, crossing his arms over his chest and moving to lean over the wall. Jesse moved to stand in a fighting stance. Salena stood there, waiting for him to move. But Jesse stood still, keeping his fist up. "Well come on," she mocked him. He looked at her before his fist came flying towards her. She caught his fist in her own, eyes seemingly looking straight into his soul. She suddenly moved to grab his wrist to hold him still before her foot came up to his stomach with a hard, but not too hard, kick straight to his abdomen. He fell to his knees, unaware of the raw combat talent this woman had. Her leg raised again and then she brought it down in between his shoulders, before putting her weight down on him to push him down to the mat. Wrist still in her grasp, she kept her foot down as she twisted his arms around her. 

"You rely too much on that little pea shooter of yours, Jess," she spoke darkly as she pulled his arm in an awkward angle, causing pain to not only ripple in his shoulder, but even down to his chest. He tried to scramble away from her vice grip, but between the foot on his back and the pain in his arm every time he moved, it seemed hopeless. "Still afraid to hurt me, cowboy?" 

Gabriel was laughing in the corner, a dark sound all his own. "Let him go, niña. Before you break his arm." 

Salena looked down at McCree, no mercy in her eyes. She leaned all her weight down on the foot on his back, making the teenager whine in pain. "Call me a slut in any language again, kid, and I'll break it off completely," she let go of his arm suddenly with these words hanging heavy in the air. "Go to the side and sit it out. Watch Gabe and I show you how to fight without relying on your fists and mouth." McCree looked at her with exhaustion in his face, breathing heavily as the pain resided from his shoulder and chest. Gabe moved away from the wall, watching McCree roll to his side before using his unabused arm to push himself up. He breathed deeply before releasing a 'jesus' in a tired tone. She smiled behind his back, as Gabe moved up behind her. 

"You want to fight me now?" 

"Let's actually train him by letting him see what a real fight can look like when on a mission," Salena said with a grin. "Unless you're scared, Reyes." 

Gabriel chuckled darkly, taking a few steps away from her and standing in position. "Remember where you learned all those skills, Patel." She moved to position as well only to hear McCree from his spot against the wall. 

"Give her hell for me boss, avenge my pride." 

"Can't avenge something that was never there to begin with, Jess," Salena teased, though kept her eyes on the man in front of her. Gabe laughed at her joke but kept his eyes on her as well. They merely looked at one another for a moment, taking each other in. There was stillness for a moment before Salena relaxed for a minute offering a catty smile, "Come on Commander, you know you've always wanted to put your hands on all th--" she began but quickly had to dodge as he came towards her, she ducked a simple jab but was unable to fight the arm that came around her stomach to pick her up. The goal was to throw her down, but she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling herself free of his grip and moved to tightened her grip around his neck. She squeezed tightly, using all her strength to try and push out the air from his body. She held on for a moment but he grabbed her ankle and pulled her down from around him and threw her to the ground. She landed on one knee and the other foot in front of him. She looked up at him, seeing his eyes looking down at her, smirk playing at the corners of his lips. She grinned up at him. 

"Aww seeing something you've always wanted, Gabriel?" She hummed seductively at him, and he laughed. 

"You know me so well, --" before he could finish, her foot came flying up, hitting the man square in the jaw. She began to laugh, but he recovered too quickly, suddenly grabbing her ankle and lifting her up. It was like she weighed nothing as he picked her up by her foot, her having to kick her other foot in hopes of making hard enough contact to get him to release her. "That kind of hurt, mija," he teased, keeping her ankle in a vice grip. He rose his arm above his head, making it so only her fingertips were grazing the mat now. She wasn't short, standing at 5'8", but he was just tall enough to almost have her off the ground. She kicked a few more times, trying to scramble out of his grip. She finally landed one on his chest that loosened his hold and she gave another harder kick in the exact same spot. She finally was free. She fell to the ground, hitting her shoulder on to the mat while both feet moved in a fierce kick to his abdomen, definitely hitting him harder than she had hit McCree, causing Gabe to double over at the impact. She took the time to get to her feet under her, hands going up defensively. She took a couple jabs at him, which he would dodge, and he would reciprocate with his own hard punches. Some of which she dodged, others would hit their target. This was a constant in their usual training. He was always one step ahead of her, always analyzing what her next move would be. She had to think this is why he would always be her mentor, her his eager to learn protege. Sweat was dripping in beads off both their brows. She picked up the speed of each punch she would throw, hoping that the less thought she put into it would mean the less chance he would have of predicting her method. Plus, she would hope that their age difference would mean her stamina and endurance would be higher than his. She did a quick one, two hit. One fist went first, going for his cheek, which he blocked expertly, but the next hit was fast to his stomach, and before much thought could be put in, her foot came up quickly across his cheek, the force making his head snap to the side. 

He kept his gaze on the mat for a moment, Salena bouncing on her feet as she waited for him to react. As he turned to look at her, she felt a chill run down her spine. Blood trickled down from his mouth over his bottom lip. As a smirk came to his lips, she could see his teeth stained in red as well. All bets were off then, as his hand snaked forward too fast for her to register and fingers tangled into her hair, pulling her close to his body, her body turning to try and get a better opportunity to fight him. With her back pressed against his chest, she brought an elbow into his stomach a few times, but he suddenly pulled her hair tightly, painfully yanking it and pulling her head back. He wrapped his other arm around her throat, and squeezed tightly. She felt her air circulation suddenly get cut off, and she elbowed him a few more times, desperately trying to break free. He yanked her hair again and she gasped a breath of air quickly before his arm tightened around her throat again, her air leaving her once more. She scrambled, trying to get her footing but couldn't in the awkward position he had her in. She pulled at his arm, one last attempt to free herself until she suddenly tapped his arm. 

Defeat. 

He let her go gently, and she fell to her knees taking a deep breath, before rapidly taking more breathes afterwards. He chuckled gently, taking a hand and wiping the blood off his lip. "Almost, babe. Almost."

"One day-I'm going to--beat the shit out of you," she breathed in and out these words, laying down on her back, relaxing. The back of her head stung from where he had pulled her hair, but her neck throbbed in complete and utter pain. But, there was satisfaction in her heart, "I lasted--longer than--last time." 

"You did, plus your kicks are getting absolutely brutal, mija. Well done," he commended her warmly, his body falling to his knees and he laid down on the mat as well, but him on his stomach. 

"I've been practicing." 

"It shows." 

The two of them stayed laying on the mat for a while, all three that were there suddenly very tired. Salena turns her head, looking at Gabe, "How does my neck look? I swear to god if you--"

"It's already bruising," Gabe replied with a snicker. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him.

"I hate you." 

"No you don't, you're just mad that you tapped out instead of passed out like a champ would." 

"It felt like you were crushing my wind pipe." 

"That's how choking out someone works, Salena," he teased her, smiling as he looked into her angry face. "I thought you said you wanted him to watch what a real fight looks like. I'm not complaining that you busted my lip open.

"You like it when I make you bleed, Gabriel. It probably gets you off or something," she cooed, beginning to push herself off the mat. Her arms shook slightly, but it was normal for her muscles to tense and resist movement when she worked out like this. He pushed himself off the ground as well, groaning as he got to his feet. 

"Probably does, to be honest," Gabriel had thought about her words, "But I think it's just because I get proud of you when you cause damage. Reminds me I did I great job teaching you," he watched as she moved over to Jesse, her sticking her hand out warmly. Jesse looked at it for a moment before grabbing it and she helped pull him up. "You did a good job. Both of you did." Jesse looked at him as his words sunk in. Salena pat the boy on his shoulder, to which he smiled softly. 

"Thanks boss."


	5. Chapter 5

It had been weeks since he had heard from her. She had been in Dubai for 2 years by then. He looked older, a new scar decorating itself under and above his right eye. She looked different as well, her hair growing to her shoulders by then, a small scar on her chin. Barely even noticable, but he had seen it right away and teased her for it. There were times she was skinnier, obviously training too hard and not eating enough and he would firmly remind her to take care of herself. But over a month ago, the video chats had come to a screeching halt. No word had come to him, or Salena's mother, no he wasn't above checking on her through her mother. Neither had been given any word on her whereabouts or well-being. Just silence. He was worried that his worst nightmare was being realized. The best situation is that she was simply busy. Was drowning in paperwork, or a new blossoming social life. A significant other that was taking up all her time. The worst option? Well, he would rather not think about it. 

What if something had happened to her? She was taken captive in some enemy base or dead or even worse, being tortured. The thoughts had been keeping him up at night, new terrors coming to his mind with each new night that came to pass. He could only hope that he would hear from her soon. 

It had been late at night when his holopad beeped, the screen illuminating. He had jumped out of bed quickly, wearing only his boxers, but he didn't care to dress himself as he clicked the button and her face came to the screen. The place she was in was dark, looking dusty. There were people sitting on the ground in the background, she and every one else, looked dirty, their faces blackened with dirt and ash. "Salena." 

He heard her sigh in relief, her eyes looking at him through the computer. She looked so tired, her face looking thin. "Gabe," her voice caused all those worries to go away, but only for a moment. "Gabe I don't have a lot of time, we only have a little while for the holopad to work. So I called our admiral first and I called you immediately afterwards." He had so many questions, but she continued quickly. "We've been trapped underground. There was an attack on our headquarters, and the building we were in collapsed. All comms are down, we only managed to get a signal after sending some people out with a dish and fucking making an antenna out of some spare wires and shit," she put her hand over her eyes, squeezing her temples. "Our general and captain are dead. There are only a handful of us left. Some have tried to run for it, but there are enemies outside and none of them have made it. They don't know we're in here, but we ran out of provisions yesterday. None of that really fucking matters, honestly. But I wanted to call you and tell you," she paused, taking her hand away from her eyes to reveal tear tracks going down her cheeks. "To tell you that I'm really scared--" she looked up at the ceiling, sob threatening to pass her lips but she took a deep breath, and looked back down at the camera, her voice getting quiet, "And, um, I don't know if I'm ever going to see you again. So, I wanted to tell you a couple things."

"Salena--" 

"I know what you're going to say, not to talk like this. Not to get this in my head. To be strong. That I can do this. But please, I need to say this," she stated firmly, her gaze looking right into his very soul. So he stayed quiet, letting her continue, "I wanted to thank you. For everything you've taught me, I couldn't have asked for a better teacher. I couldn't have asked for a better mentor. You have made me so strong, and I appreciate everything you ever done for me. You made everything better. Every bump and bruise. You have made me better. And I can never repay you for all you've done. But I hope that I always made you proud. I hope I will _always_ make you proud." More tears fell down her cheeks, but she stayed solid, her voice getting stronger. "I couldn't have asked for a better friend. I trust you with every fiber of my being, and there isn't many people I trust. You made me laugh when I was sad. You are so stupid and funny and you mean everything to me. I would give my life for you, and I am very sure you would do the same for me. And for that, I thank you again. No one will ever be what you are to me, Reyes. Not a single person will ever get close either," she paused, wiping her cheeks, swallowing a lump in her throat before continuing. "I love you, and I need you to know that. I love you so fucking much. You are my family. You are my everything." 

She stopped there, her golden eyes staring into him. He breathed softly, his eyes looking back. He wished he could be there to wipe her tears away, to hug her and to save her. He wished there was some more knowledge he could pass on to her, to give her the strength to do what she needed to. But he couldn't, and he realized what the hardest part was of being a teacher. Of being a mentor. To be helpless in saving his protege. There was nothing left to teach. No more advice to give. He sighed gently, before shaking his head, "I have always, always, been proud of you, Salena. You are so talented, and so smart. You _can_ do this. You **will** do this," he assured firmly. "And I love you. I love you so much, Salena. And I will see you again." 

She sniffled quietly, nodding. They stayed in silence, simply staring at one another. He thought of something and decided to mention it lightly, "You know, you never talked to me. About my letter." She smiled at him, before reaching into the pocket that was on the breat of her jacket. She pulled out his letter, it looking to be as if it was opened and refolded multiple times. 

"I'm happy I keep it on me. I would have been devasted if it was lost with the rest of the building," she stated honestly. "I read it almost everyday. Usually when I miss you. Which **is** almost everyday," she teased weakly. She seemed so tired, just completely exhausted. He smiled, happy at her words. 

"So you liked it?" He asked warmly. 

She nodded, folding open the letter. "It reminds me of home," she confessed, "Plus it is pretty romantic. A guy writing me such a sweet letter." 

"I'll write you one every damn day when you get back," he laughed, seeing her laugh too. However, she had to turn as someone, a young man, came up to her, the two of them speaking Hindi to one another softly. His heart sank as she turned back to the camera, eyes looking sad though she was still smiling. 

"Gabriel, I have to go. There are a lot of people wanting to call their families here. Listen, I'll call you when, if, I make it to the safe house." 

"When," he corrected firmly. She smiled at him and nodded. 

"When," she agreed warmly, "Miss you." 

"Miss you too." 

"If you can, will you call my mom in the morning? I didn't want her to see me-- looking like this," she added gently. Two tears fell from her eyes once again, and he felt wetness touch one of his own. He took a thumb and quickly wiped it away. He nodded silently, throwing his own sad smile on his lips then. "Love you, Gabe." 

"Love you too, mija." 

"Bye." 

"Bye." 

As the screen went back to his desktop, he looked up at his own ceiling, keeping anymore tears that threatened his eyes away. 

**The Age of Jesse**  
As a month passed, Jesse became more and more at home in Blackwatch. Ana had taken the young man under her wing, as well as Gabriel, who would spar him every morning. Plus the look on his face when Gabe had pulled him aside, gifting him back something that belonged to McCree. She was waiting off to the side so her and Gabe could go to lunch when she saw Gabe handing him something worn and brown. She smiled as she remembered that Jack had given Gabe this item from the evidence locker to give to McCree. The young man looked excited, happiness radiating off his face. 

"I thought it was lost," Jesse exclaimed brightly, grabbing the thing from Gabe. It was a hat. A cowboy hat to be exact, and the only reason they knew it was Jesse's was because his last name was written in the brim. "Thank you, boss!" Jesse immediately pulled it onto his messy brown hair. 

"Looks good on you, kid," Gabe complimented him with a smirk. Jesse was obviously to into his own hat because he didn't seem to be paying attention as he walked off to probably find a mirror. Salena wondered up to Gabriel with a smile on her lips. 

"He looks ridiculous in that thing," she commented quietly, leaning over say it so only he could hear. 

"Yeah, but he seems to be attached to it. He probably is going to wear it all the time," he turned to look at her fully, grin on his face. "I have a surprise for you too. Close your eyes." She looked at him suspiciously, but did as he asked, eyes closing. He put his hands on her shoulders and began pushing her through the halls. 

"Where are we going, Gabe?" She questioned, beginning to get annoyed after what she believed was the 20th sharp turn he had taken. All he did was chuckle warmly. 

"You'll see," he cooed in her ear. A shiver passed down her spine, but she shook her head, eyes staying closed. He took her down a few more turns but soon, he let go over her shoulders to go to a wall, typing into the code for a door before leading her inside this place. "Alright, open your eyes." 

She did, blinking as all she saw was a dark room, looking around. He moved over to a light switch, flicking it on and suddenly the room became ignited with a harsh florescent glow. She blinked again, the light temporarily blinding her. She shook her head, taking in the room they were in. It was filled with computers, though they were all turned off and no one else was in the room except for the two of them. She looked at the floor, seeing black, red, and white tiles making up a design on the floor. She inspected it for a moment, before she recognized it as the Blackwatch symbol Gabe had come up with it. The skull's eyes seemed to be looking up at her with dull emptiness. She felt Gabriel came up from behind her, holding her jacket in his hands. She remembered she wasn't supposed to wear it around until their headquarters was finished being built She laughed gently, putting one arm out for him to slide the jacket on, before giving him her other arm as well, before her eyes turned back to the room they were in. There were two halls on each side, all lit with the same harsh white lights as the main room. She pulled her jacket on, as she stepped forward, leaving Gabe to trail behind her. "So wait, is it all done?" 

"Yes, we just need to fill it up with people now," he stated, smiling behind her shoulder. He could feel her smile lighting up her face. 

"Wait wait, so we're official?" She asked excitedly, turning to look at him. He simply nodded, and was surprised when she jumped up and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. He chuckled deeply, and hugged her back tightly, keeping her feet off the ground. "Show me around!" She stated excitedly, and he simply walked around with her still hugged tightly to his chest. "No, put me down first." He set her down reluctantly, smiling down at her as he instead grabbed her hand and led her around. The first rooms that came up on the tour was his and her office, right next door to each other. His was only a slight bit bigger, seeing as he was the commander, but hers was still wonderful. It was a cool slate gray, desk, chairs, filing cabinets were all black. 

"I love it!" She stated warmly, causing him to smile gently. Next was the cafeteria. It wasn't as big as the Overwatch building's was, but it really didn't need to be. It was all white, with black and gray tables. Then the red lockers lining the walls. There was three with names on them, one for each of the current Blackwatch members. Then the training rooms.

"There is a workout room, shooting range, sparring ring. Then there is a long range shooting area outside for you too. We have a little bit of everything," Gabriel stated warmly. She looked around with interest, checking out each corner and nook she could. 

"I really like this, Gabe. It's like you took everything you could think of for us, and put it into one place. I think Jesse is going to like it too," she cooed sweetly, putting an arm around his waist and giving him a sideways hug. 

"You haven't even seen the best part yet," he hummed, looking at her playful eyes. She looked up at him with an excited glint in her eyes as he led her around to a different room, right next to the training area. 

As he pulled her inside, she looked around with immediate stars in her eyes. "Whoa," she said in awe, looking around the room in excitement. On every one of its black walls with a variety different weapons. All sizes, shapes, ammunitions. "Oh, look at this one. And this one!" She basically jumped around from one gun to the other, excited grin on her lips. "Ah, look at this fucking monster, look at this Gabe," she picked up a large pulse rifle off the wall, but it almost tipped her over by its immense weight, her having to struggle. Gabe chuckled, helping her with a strong arm picking it out of her hands and putting it back on the wall. She moved over to the next one that caught her attention. 

She believed herself a relatively calm person. But pretty, shiny, brand new guns always got her giddy. She often tried to shoot a new weapon whenever she came across it, but when she saw her sniper rifle hanging on the wall, she immediately moved over to it. She had really loved the new design this gun had. Light weight, matte finish. The scope on it was amazing, helping her to see more than 100 meters away if there weren't any obstacles in the way. Plus the bullets it shot could bulldoze through a sedan if given the right shot. And she always took the right shot. It was built to kill, but that's what a gun was supposed to do. She would always be posted high, protecting her team from up above. She loved this gun.

"You should let me break in the new shooting range," she stated happily, but he shook his head. 

"Let me show you the rest of the building, then we can pull Jesse in and we can test everything out."

She pouted, but followed him as he led his way out of the armory. She took everything in with interest, memorizing the way to each and every room he showed her. He seemed just as excited as she was, even though it seemed like he already knew everything by heart. The last place he showed her were their rooms, neighbors again of course. She liked that though, that he was so close to her. Why she liked it, she wasn't really sure. But it was comforting to know he was only a few feet away at night. She usually hated sleeping away from others. Having someone close who cared? Always better than being alone. 

She looked at her room, seeing a closet with her uniforms inside, a holopad, TV, large bathroom, large bed. The walls were the slate gray her office had been, the carpet and furniture being black. "It looks amazing Gabe, I love it," she said, a comfortable warmth radiating off of her. She was happy, it was that plain and simple. Comfortable and happy and safe in her own place. She felt like she could stay here forever. She moved over to him, signalling for him to bend down with a beckon of her hand. He did so, a small smile on his lips. She held his face gently, and gave a kiss to his forehead. A better thank you than just words, in both their opinions. For him, he has given her kisses on her forehead on multiple occasions. When it came from her, it was truly special. "It all is amazing. You should add interior decorating to your list of talents," she teased gently, letting go of his face. He was still smiling as he stood back up, pride beaming off of him like sunlight. 

"Do you know what the best part is?" He asked her, his smile turning into a smirk. 

"What's that?" 

"I finally get to see you in that tight uniform," he cooed, his voice almost taking on a more seductive tone. She swatted at his arm as she laughed. 

"Was that why this building was put up so damn fast?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An awkward in counter, but a happy ending

When he had gotten a call late afternoon the next day, he prepared for the worst news he could get. She was severely injured or dead, and the thought terrified him. But as he opened up his phone to see Salena's face, smiling warmly at him as he picked up the call, he thought he may have collapsed right there in the hallway. She was definitely worse for wear, both her eyes having dark bruises around them, her cheek darkly bruised as well. From what he could tell, her arm was in a sling. And there was a deep gash along her chin. But **she made it**. He took a deep breath, relief flooding through him as he looked at her. 

"Hey Gabe," she spoke, her voice soft. She looked tired, and probably sore, but he smiled gently at her. 

"Hey Salena," he spoke, his voice cracking a bit. He had been so worried and he felt as if the weight of the world had suddenly been lifted off his shoulders.

"I have so much to tell you, but I feel like I don't even know where to begin," she said, tilting her head to the side as she thought about it. "But, firstly we made it to the safe house. Obviously. We were flown to the base Ajman. I'm sorry I didn't call you earlier, but they wanted to debrief us before calling our families. It's been... A really crazy day," she finished her words with a whisper, not really knowing exactly what to say, or how to say it, or even if it was something she should say. So much happened, so much weighed on her soul right then. She was exhausted, but wasn't sure if she was going to be able to sleep any time soon. 

"I know you probably have a lot you want to talk about. And I have all the time in the world to listen," Gabriel assured her, his tone warm and welcoming. She sighed at his words, before beginning to spill everything, unable to help it when he looked at her with those warm brown eyes. The attack had been by a terrorist organization, but they didn't know the name. Just the symbol they had used. Which she described to him as well. A group with both omnic and human troops posted around the base, looking through their records. They had set the archives on fire on their way out. Instructions from her superior officer. 

"We were almost off base when they finally saw us. We lost a lot of soldiers there. But I think if we would have stayed, we would have lost a lot more," she explained, suddenly getting quiet. 

"It was your plan to leave then." He stated this calmly, his tone knowing. She nodded quietly, raising a glass filled with amber liquid to her lips, drinking a small sip. "You saved those people, mija." He looked at her, seeing her think on his words in silence. She rose the glass again, finishing off the liquid inside and wiping her full lips with the back of her hand. 

"It doesn't feel like I did a very good job saving anyone." 

"And it's probably going to feel that way for a long time. But you did. You helped those men and women get home to their families. Gave children their parents again," he assured her, his voice soft, comforting. He watched as she lowered her eyes, hand going to rest under her chin. 

"And the ones who won't?" 

Gabe thought on these words, trying to figure what to say, "It is sad, but at least they didn't die in a hole, with their families not knowing what happened. And at least they went down fighting, and not starved to death underground." There was silence between the two, comfortable, if not a little heavy with everything that has happened. She sighed in annoyance, quickly wiping her face as tears must have escaped her eyes. 

"I feel like I've cried enough for an eternity," she huffed, taking a deep breath as she sat up straight. She looked like an even combination of exhausted and empowered. When he looked at her then, she looked like a leader. She had to make a hard choice, lives were lost, people got hurt, minds were cracked, and she had to stand strong through it all. To give strength, to hold on, to be ready for anything. There was a feeling blossoming in his chest, pride swelling his heart up ten fold. 

"Crying is okay, I don't mind a little bit of tears, you know that," he offered to her with a half smile. 

She gave him a small chuckle, "Yeah, I know. I just feel tired of it right now." He nodded at her words, and she continued there to explain everything. Every small detail, every one of the soldiers in their unit. The good things they did, the bad things they also did. In a confined space, people can go crazy. And they were under the rocks for a long while. Out of what seemed like 150 people, only 40 of them made it out. "There were bodies everywhere, we had to quarantine one half of the building and move the dead over there." 

He listened to her, smiling sometimes as she explained it all. She seemed okay, not great. But she was going through all the emotions she seemed to need. Hurt, sadness, remorse, pride, happiness. "I'm just glad you made it back," he stated honestly, a look of relief in his eyes. 

"Don't you remember what I said? I would move hell to get back to you." She looked at him with a smile on her lips. He felt his heart thump harder in his chest as he felt her words wash over him.

 **The Age of Jesse**  
When she looked at herself in the mirror. She ran her hands over her sides as she took everything. Her uniform was tight, but it worked for keeping her muscles and form on point. But as she looked at herself in the mirror, she became over critical of herself. She has always been built tall, with strong arms and legs. Her waist was small, but she felt her hips and thighs looked big in the uniform. It was just the way her body was shaped, but she couldn't help but be self conscious about it, especially when there was a very attractive man ready to see what it looks like to make sure it fits. And it does fit right, she just doesn't know exactly how she feels it looks like on her. She sighed quietly, taking her hair and tying it back up in a ponytail. She moved to the door and opened it gently. 

"There you are. I was worried that you--" he turned to see her fully and his brain short circuited for a moment, "--fell in." He recovered quickly, smiling warmly at her. Meanwhile, his brain was chiming in an _Oh Dios mío_ as he looked at her. 

"How does it look?" She asked, wanting his honest opinion as she did a small turn to show him all sides. His smile grew more sinister as he moved over to her. 

"Absolutely goddamn amazing," he stated honestly, not hiding that his eyes were moving along her shape. She rolled her eyes but continued.

"It's not too tight or anything?" 

"It fits you like a glove, which is exactly what we wanted it to do." 

"Yeah, I just don't want to look like a fool or anything like that," she commented gently, running her hands along her waist and hips. He looked at her, eyes roaming along her body like they were glued to it. 

"I think you're going to make me look like a fool because I'm going to be drooling after you all the time. But you definitely don't look anything short of gorgeous, as usual," he voiced his opinion bluntly, seeing her cheeks turn pink under his gaze. However, she didn't seem convinced. "What about it are you not sure on?" 

"It's probably stupid," she started, to which he gave her a look to show that he wouldn't think that way. "I just feel like my hips and thighs look too big in them." 

"Well mija, mi amor, you have shapely hips and thighs. You always have," he cooed warmly, to which she tilted her head with an irritated look on her face, "But that's not a bad thing. It's part of how you look, and you always look," he tried to find a more polite way to put it but gave up and just spoke plainly, "Hot as fuck. You're an absolute babe. And those hips are definitely part of it. And those thighs." He looked at her, and saw her scowl had turned up a little bit, a small smile on her lips. "I've seen men almost break their neck trying to get a better look at that ass too. Don't think we're not going to talk about that," he smiled as he saw her roll her eyes, laughing gently. 

"Alright alright, I get it," she chuckled, going back to the mirror and looking at herself, trying to get acquainted with the way she looked. 

"And whoever says your thighs are big have obviously never met me," he added, to which she chuckled. 

"Yeah, but your thighs look like they could kill someone, which is why they are so attractive," she responded, turning her head to look at him with a knowing glance. He looked surprised at this.

"Really?"

"Mhm." 

He looked pleased with this compliment, finally forcing himself to look away from her and her body. He waited for her to finish, looking down at his hands. Part of him hated the way even her insecurities made him adore her all the more, and he was trying to pull his thoughts all back together. When she stepped out, shutting her bathroom door behind her, moving over to him. He looked down at her, seeing her cheeks were still warm. 

"If I would have known you liked it when I say nice things about your body, I would have done it sooner," he teased, her hand coming up and swatting his arm gently. She was smiling brightly. 

"Who wouldn't like it if a man like you drowned them in compliments?" 

"A man like me, huh?" Gabe baited her coolly, brown eyes looking down her. 

"Tall, handsome soldier with an attitude problem? Of course," she teased, eyebrow raised, smirk decorating her lips. She began to lead the way out of her room, but he moved to stand in front of her. 

"Is that all I am?" He asked, his voice sounding almost hurt, but there was a smile hiding behind those eyes. 

"Was there more?" She cooed with a tilt of her head, to which he mock gasped, hurt touching his features. She rolled her eyes, and moved to go past him. However he blocked her again playfully. She looked at him with mock annoyance, lips pursed in a small pout. 

"I'm hurt, Salena. I thought we were friends." She let out a laugh, sounding almost manical. 

"Gabe, you're just pretty face," she mock insulted, before biting her bottom lip to keep from giggling at the wide eyed glare he gave her. "You're ridiculous, get out of the way," she stated with a roll of her eyes.

"Well, I think I should show you that I'm not just a pretty face," he stated firmly. She crossed her arms across her chest, looking at him expectantly. "We should go on a date." 

"You're crazy," she laughed, shaking her head until she looked into his eyes, realizing he was serious. She softened a little bit, looking into his eyes. "Gabe, come on. We can't." 

"Why not?" He questioned, his face warm, eyes keeping her gaze. 

"You're my superior? Morrison would kill us?" 

"Fuck Morrison, it would be fine as long as we kept it between us," Gabe stated, waving off her words. She looked at him, her eyes searching his for any sign of a joke or a tease or anything, but saw sincerity in his brown hues. They stayed in silence, Salena not saying a word but Gabriel felt like he already had his answer. He sighed gently, rubbing his eyes with one hand. "You're right.... You're right, I'm sorry." He felt angry at his own stupidity, angry that he had put her in that position. He wasn't sure what the hell he was thinking. There was silence between them for a moment.

"I already love you so much, Gabriel," she spoke gently, shy in her words. "If it were to be something more serious, I already know I would risk everything to make sure you were safe. I can't even say I wouldn't already do it now. And we have responsibilities here. We can't..." She shook her head, nerves taking her voice away. He kept rubbing his eyes until this point, looking back down at her. They looked at one another, both knowing it would be a bad idea, but Salena couldn't help but feel genuine regret at the situation. She would marry this man if she could, she would be happy with his hand in hers forever. But that wasn't the path they were on then. And it broke her heart, causing her chest to hurt. He nodded, another sigh leaving him. 

"I know, I know," Gabriel stated gently, "I just--" he paused, trying to word what he was thinking, "I don't want you to be that one I always think about and wonder what would have happened. Especially not because of a job, Overwatch be damned. I would tear everything down that would be in my way to make sure you're safe, I would do that now. I would do that then. I think we should give it a chance. I want to give it a chance." 

They looked at each other, hearts thumping in their chests as they took the other in. Salena eyed him up and down, before the side of her lip pulled gently, a small sideways smile. "Let me think about it?" She questioned him and saw he seemed to short circuit again, eyes looking surprised. 

"Of course, mija. Take all the time you need." 

...

A week was too long, the wait was killing him. Things had returned to a sense of normality, though his question to her still seemed to weigh in the air. Everyone was moved into the new building, Jesse comfortably controlling half of the building all to himself for the time being, the only people who had moved in were a couple of analysts and a cook who had been hired by Gabriel and Salena. Training had kicked into overdrive, making sure they got Jesse where they wanted him before their next mission came in. If Jesse wasn't training, he was sleeping, often having to be dragged up to make sure he ate properly. He couldn't help it though, Salena realized they were working the poor kid to the bone, though Gabe hadn't seemed to realize it yet. 

So when she had found him looking down from the rafters, comfortably perched on the metal, she wasn't surprised to see him getting some peace and alone time. She had seen him accidentally, looking up to see his boots kicking absentmindely. She had moved to the cafeteria, asking the woman making food in the kitchen if she had seen Jesse yet that day. 

"No, I have a lunch here for him though," the blonde Russian woman chimed happily, blue eyes motioning to a bag on the counter. Salena smiled warmly, grabbing the bag and an apple for herself and moving along the walls to see how Jesse had even gotten up there. She had finally walked past a ladder at the very back of the facility, climbing it with the bag securely between her teeth while the apple was placed into the bag. She followed the rafters, having to focus on walking along the metal beams. Might have been difficult for someone else, but she made it along the bars easily. When she made it to where Jesse was sitting, he didn't seem surprised when he looked up to see her. 

"I was hopin' you didn't actually see me," he hummed. Salena moved over to sit next to him, feet dangling off the rafter. She looked down, seeing that they had a perfect view of the lobby and the training room. 

"That makes it sound like you don't want to see me, Jesse," Salena teased, opening up the paper bag to grab her apple before throwing the rest of the bag over to him. He peeked inside, grabbing the fork that was inside before opening a small box to see some chicken and rice. 

"Sometimes I think Sam can read my mind because she always makes what I'm craving," Jesse stated happily, digging into the food quickly.

"You know if you went to go say hi to her, she would be happy to see you. I think she's made it her goal to make sure you eat now since you forget to sometimes," Salena stated before taking a bite of her apple. Jesse nodded, looking back out at the floor, Salena looking out as well. She watched as some of the analysts joked around at the computers, no real work to do but as she looked further to the training room where she saw Gabriel punching the air. 

"I just get real tired after all that shi--training," he quickly fixed his wording as her eyes slid over to look at him, "training. I feel like all I do is sleep and workout, sleep, workout." 

"I know," Salena stated honestly, to which Jesse looked at her, "We just want to make sure you're ready. We want to make sure you come back home," she looked back out to Gabriel, nodding her head towards him, "I think it's one of his biggest fears, losing his team. He doesn't want to throw us into the fire without the tools we need to get out." 

"He is in there almost all the time," Jesse commented, nodding at her words. He seemed to be thinking about it, before he forked more food into his mouth. Salena smiled and nodded. 

"And if we can't get out of the fire on our own, he wants to make sure he can rescue us. It's a flaw of his." Salena watched Gabe work himself, his punches fast. Quick, probably painful jabs if it were someone in there taking the hits. Jesse set the box to the side, before digging through the bag and grabbing a water bottle. He took a sip before putting the cap back on. They both watched Gabe in silence, seeing him push himself. 

"So are you guys, like, datin' or something?" Jesse questioned, his tone seeming careful. Salena simply shaked her head, smile on her lips. "Would you? I mean, you guys seem pretty close." 

"I would marry that man if I had the chance too. I just don't know if that's in the cards for us," she stated honestly, trusting Jesse with this knowledge. 

"Why not?" 

"Because look where we are Jesse," she motioned to the building, the people down below. "We need to stay focused on Blackwatch. On you, and the rest of the team, and the missions. Don't you think it would be a distraction?" They stayed in silence for a moment, Jesse thinking on her words. 

"I'm just not sure what the difference would be. You're already best friends, isn't it a distraction already?" Jesse questioned her coolly. She sighed at his words, thinking about it. 

"It sounds like you already talked to him about it," she commented, to which he nodded. "Traitor." 

"Well, hey, I didn't pick any sides, but I think you guys could be happy if you wanted to be," Jesse stated honestly, giving her a sideways smile. "What's the harm of trying?" He gave her a shrug, to which she scowled at him with a roll of her eyes. They stayed silent for a while after that, looking as Gabriel moved from the ring then, disappearing for a little while before they watched him pull out a standing punching bag. He began his workout all over again, his jabs now accompanied by kicks then. Salena smiled as she looked at him. "I hope I can fight like him one day," Jesse spoke honestly, hearing Salena hum in agreement. 

"I just want to get your stamina and endurance up first. And also some quick thinking on your part. And your speed," Salena absentmindely added to the list, to which Jesse narrowed his eyes at her at her unintentional insults, "But I think you'll be more likely to beat him before me." 

"Really?" Jesse asked surprised, and Salena sighed dramatically. 

"Him and I are on two oppostie ends of the spectrum. He's incredibly strong, his got his height and weight against me, he has more experience in heavy hitting. Meanwhile, I'm fast, and I have high stamina and endurance, which he doesn't, partially because of how big he is and also the decade he has on me in age. I have more experience with street fighting but he doesn't have many morals when he fights. So he fights dirty, there have been plenty of times I walked out of the ring with more than just a bruise around my neck. My kicks have a lot more range than his does, but when his kicks hit, they fucking kill. It's all like... A scale? You know what I mean?" Jesse nodded so she continued, "He just has a little more on his side of the scale than I do. I think, you guys would be more even, because you are his height, you also fight dirty when you're desperate, which is not a bad thing. You would build muscle if you would just eat consistently, 5 small meals a day, like the one Sam packed for you today. But it doesn't happen over night, and I think we need to remind Gabe of that so he doesn't burn you out." 

Jesse took in all her words quietly, nodding as he thought it all over. "Did he train you like he does me?" 

"It was way worse. I did 10 hours of workout a day, everyday, for 4 years," Salena laughed at Jesse's face, which looked horrified. "I needed a lot more discipline than you do, Jess. I had enlisted in the American forces when I was 18 because I knew otherwise I'd be dead in a gutter somewhere. I was done breaking my mother's heart and wanted to make her proud. So in walks this guy, big as a house, who watches us train during boot camp. But he just... Focuses on me. He would always be at my training. So one day, I think I had just got my ass handed to me and I was mad, I walked up to him. In all my eighteen year old pride, I got in his face, like standing up on my tippy toes got in his face." 

"Holy shit," Jesse laughed, looking at Salena with interest at her story. 

"So any sane dude would have probably just walked away from me, told my drill sergeant, and went to look at a different recruit. But he just takes it right, like I'm screaming at him. And when I finally finished, he just looks at me, before putting his hand out to me and he introduced himself. He explained why he had been scouting me, looking for a protege, wanting to pass on what he's learned. But before he wanted to offer me the chance, he wanted to see personally what I could do. We spar, I get my ass handed to me twice in one night, but the next day, he pulled me out of boot and here we are. Almost thirteen years later. Oh, god," Salena had a realization about how long it's actually been. Thirteen years of catty remarks, triumph, sadness, happiness, pride. She smiled to herself as Jesse spoke. 

"So he's made it a habit to pull wayward kids to him?" He lauged and she did too. 

"I think it's all about second chances with him." Jesse seemed to think on her words. 

"Second chances." He repeated. She moved to stand up, putting her feet on the rafter and balancing herself. 

"Try to come down for dinner, we would be happy to see you," Salena offered and Jesse nodded quietly, taking another sip of his water as he looked back down and Salena walked away. He thought on her words. 

_Second Chances_

...

Salena had walked over to her room, changing into her work out clothes, wrapping her feet and hands in sports tape. She slipped on her boots, not worrying about lacing them up. She exited her room, seeing Gabriel on his way back from the training room. He looked up to see her, and smiled warmly, "Hey mija, have you seen Jesse? He didn't show up this morning." 

"I gave him the day off," she spoke, her eyebrows raising as he looked almost insulted, "He's not like you, Gabe. Give him a break for the day." He huffed but he didn't fight it. He moved to his door and it slid open, and he walked inside. She moved to lean in the doorway, him looking at her over his shoulder.

"Did you need to talk to me about something?" He asked curiously, sideways smile as he looked at her. She smiled back, and shrugged. 

"I was hoping you would help me work out, but it looks like you just finished," she stated in catty tone, and he chuckled. 

"You know I can't say no to you. Let me change though, these clothes are soaked," he replied, pulling his shirt off as he moved over to his closet. She took a couple steps inside his room, sitting on the couch he had inside. She took a greedy glance at his toned back but pulled her eyes away when he moved over to his bathroom to change. She waited a moment, before speaking casually. 

"So I was thinking about six, does that sound good to you?" 

"For?" His voice came from behind the door, curiosity in his tone. She smiled gently and answered warmly. 

"For our date?" 

Silence answered her, even the sound of his clothes shuffling stopped. But he seemed to recover quickly though, his warm voice coming back to him. "Today?" 

"Tomorrow. If you've got the time, I thought maybe we could go get something to eat and then take a walk in that light park they just opened up." 

"That sounds good to me," he hummed, and she could hear the smile in his voice. She waited for him to leave the bathroom and when he did, he had a megawatt smile on his lips. They walked over to the training room together.


End file.
